Nail polish applicator



J. GUTENSTEIN NAIL. POLISH APPLICATOR Filed Feb 2, 1949 Dec. 30, 1952 Patented Dec. 30, V 1952 UNITED STATES PT T OFFICE NAIL POLISH ALPLIOATQR J ose'ph G'ut'enstein, Oceanside, N. Y.

applicaticn'lebruary 2, 1949, Serial No. 74,130

(Cl. lid-18 i) 3 Claims. 1

My invention relates to a nail polish applicator, and it is an object of the same to provide a device that is simple in construction and convenient in use for the purpose indicated, while also being neat and serviceable and not capable of spilling or of depositing polish where it is not desired.

Another object is to provide a device of the character described, which shall be well adapted for use by travelers, as not being liable to spill or leak regardless of position or climatic conditions.

Another object 'is to provide a device that can be manipulated with the greatest ease and facility, as it can be held in either hand while the polish is being applied to the nails of the other hand.

Referring now to the annexed drawings, which are made a part of this application and in which similar characters indicate similar parts:

Fig. 1 is a top plan View illustrating the m'eti'iod of use of the appliance,

Fig. 2, an elevation, partly in section,

Fig. 3, a vertical section of the applicator proper including some connected parts,

Fig. 4., a perspective of casing members,

Fig. 5, a section on line 5--5 'of Fig. 2,

Fig. 6, a perspective of 'a casing member, and

Fig. 7, a section on line 'l-l of Fig. 3.

In the drawings, reference character it indicates an inner casing that is closed at its lower end by means of a lower ca 11, connected to said casing by screw threads ll", said inner casing being open at the top and having a longitudinal slot at I2. A sleeve l3 with a spiral slot l l is mounted about the casing 10 and is slidable endwise thereon. An outer casing member l5 surrounds the parts It) and 13. An applicator is mounted inside the casing l0 and has a pin at Iii which projects through the slots I2 and I l.

The applicator comprises a hollow tubular member ll externally threaded at its upper end at lid and having an enlarged skirt is on which the pin It is provided, said skirt being internally threaded to receive the threaded upper end of a bottle It. The hollow upper end of tub ll has a curved strip of metal fixed therein, said strip being flattened at its upper end as indicated at 20' to provide a flat or slightly curved applicator for coating material emitted through a wide Y shallow duct at 20" formed between strip 20 and a block 2| of wood or the like to which bristles 2| are secured, as by means of glue. It is intended that the upper end of strip 20 shall be flat or slightly concave to lie against a fingernail 2 while the port or mouth between the strip and the block is wide in a lateral sense but shallow in the opposite sense. The upper end of the strip is shown as bent toward the bristles so as to close the port normally, and it will be evident that in use the bristles that contact with a nail will be flexed moreor less so as to open the port to varying degrees and thus to regulate the flow of polish, while also serving to apply the same to the nail.

An upper closure cap 22 screws on the threads We at the upper end of the brush holder to protect the brush and the material thereon irom the drying action of the atmosphere, said cap being provided at its upper end with a flange 23 having a conical under face 23' fitting against a beveled upper face at 23" on casing member it. The concentric members 13 and 15 may also have beveled faces at their upper ends to match the underface of flange 23. The lower end of the cap is preferably beveled at l8 to fit closely against an upwardly tapered outer face :1 on the tube ll above the skirt l8, so as to form a substantially air-tight closure by means of which evaporation of polish is prevented, thus preventing or at least retarding the formation of a hard blob of polish in and about the brush 2!. It will be seen that as the polish is'applied it is drawn out of the bottle underneath the brush and is applied evenly and smoothly to the finger nail. Since thebristles overhang the port in the duct, the brush acts as a valve to govern the flow, the liquid flowing with more or less speed and in greater or smaller amount according to the pressure on the brush and its rate of movement.

The normal idle positionof the-parts is illustrated in Fig. 2 in full lines. If 'now the brush is to be placed in liquid-applying position the tube I5 is grasped in one hand and the other hand grasps the cap II and turns it to the right in Fig. 2, the cap carrying the casing It] with it. The pin I6 is now acted on by the spiral slot It, which tends to move the pin upward and to the left. But the latter tendency is resisted by the engagement of the pin in the vertical slot I2, and, therefore, the brush and its holder move endwise of the appliance and outward to an exposed position, as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. When in that position the cap 22 can be unscrewed to expose the brush and the polish can be applied in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1, the brush now having two functions, i. e., it serves as a valve to regulate and control the emission of liquid and also as an applicator for spreading the liquid polish smoothly and evenly over the finger nail. It will be understood that it may be necessary to invert the device and possibly to shake or tap it to start the flow of liquid.

When not in use, the upper closure cap 22 should be replaced over the applicator, preferably before the applicator has been retracted into the full line position shown in Fig. 2, since there is no fingerhold to tighten the cap after the applicator has been retracted, and the beveled end [8 will engage the tapered shoulder ll of the tube I! so as to seal effectively the cavity in which the brush 2! is located and so to minimize or substantially prevent evaporation of polish or other liquid which, in the case of such liquids as nail polish would clog the brush and form a hard lump of paint at its outer end, which would render the device substantially use- .less. Obviously the conical faces at 23' and 23" close the space between the tubular body of the cap 22 and the member when the conical faces at I? and I8 are in contact, thus preventing drying of any polish in said space, or at least greatly retarding such drying.

The bottle l9 may be refilled or replaced if desired. For such purposes it will be seen that if the applicator is in its most retracted position the bottle [9 will extend substantially below the lower end of the outer casing. The cap I I being unscrewed, it is easy to grasp the lower end of the bottle and unscrew it from the skirt l8, either for refilling or for replacement. In the claims the terms upper and lower are sometimes used for convenience, as being descriptive of the position of parts as shown in the drawings.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the device of my invention is not necessarily limited to the use set forth. It will also be obvious that many changes may be made in the apparatus disclosed herein, all without departing from the spirit of the invention; and, therefore, I do not limit myself to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A device for applying finger nail polish and the like comprising an outer casing, a longitudinally slotted inner casing, a lower cap affixed to the lower end of said inner casing and bearing at its upper end against the lower end of said outer casing, a spirally slotted sleeve between the inner and outer casings, an applicator in the inner casing, said applicator including a hollow member having an internal thread at one end and an outer thread at the other, a pin attached to the applicator and extending through the longitudinal and spiral slots, a bottle threaded to one end of said hollow member and removable upon removal of said cap, a brush at the other end of said hollow member, an upper cap for covering the brush, said upper cap being threaded at its open end for attachment to the outer thread on said hollow member adjacent the brush, an inner peripheral tapered annular face on said upper cap adapted to fit against a tapered face on said hollow member, and an annular flange at the upper end of the upper cap, the under face of said flange and the upper face of the inner casing being each tapered inwardly and downwardly to form a tight joint for the device.

2. A device for applying paint to finger nails and the like comprising a tubular member having internal threads at its lower end and a frustoconical face above said threads, a bottle havin external threads for engagement with said internal threads, an applicator mounted in the other end of said tubular member, a casing enclosing said tubular member and said bottle, said casing having an outwardly flaring frusto-conical face at its upper end, and a closure cap having frusto-conical faces matching those of the casing and the tubular member to form a substantially air-tight chamber for the applicator.

3. A device as in claim 2, said closure cap having internal threads and said tubular member having external coacting threads for the purpose set forth.

JOSEPH GUTENSTEIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 953,371 Clark Mar. 29, 1910 1,091,228 MacKelvey Mar. 24, 1914 1,261,700 Chandler Apr. 2, 1918 1,268,976 Johnston June 11, 1918 1,355,026 Austin Oct. 5, 1920 1,476,107 Rudderham Dec. 4, 1923 1,699,939 Ansell Jan. 22, 1929 1,749,565 Coryell Mar. 4, 1930 1,844,596 Pletzke et al Feb. 9, 1932 1,943,202 Charles Jan. 9, 1934 2,025,286 Hutchison et al Dec. 24, 1935 2,088,899 Chevreau Aug. 3, 1937 2,111,767 Gimonet Mar. 22, 1938 2,279,520 Perillo Apr. 14, 1942- 2,426,418 Seaver Aug. 26, 1947 2,467,570 Ward Apr. 19, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 60,897 Denmark May 10, 1943 145,662 Austria May 11, 1936 

